SRK replies to chaiwala’s ‘I look like SRK’ statement

A blue-eyed tea-seller from Islamabad became an overnight global sensation after a photo of him went viral and now, the King of Bollywood Shah Rukh Khan has also taken notice of him.

After pictures of Arshad Khan went viral on social media, he was called by various TV channels and during an interview, he was asked which star he thinks he looks like, the ‘chai wala’ had adorably responded, “Shah Rukh Khan”.

SRK took notice of this and praised Arshad’s innocence and simplicity on Twitter. “How sweet is this. Beauty lies in simplicity,” he said.

The 18-year-old tea seller became an overnight sensation when a photographer’s Instagram shot of him working at his tea stall was shared tens of thousands of times. Following his fame, he also landed a modelling contract. Khan shared that he has been working at the tea stall for the past three months. He also said, “I have been told I have beautiful eyes by many girls but nothing ever happened. Since my picture has gone viral, I realise that I am famous now.”

Arshad Khan had no idea he had set the Internet alight from Pakistan to India and beyond: he has no phone, and cannot read. “It was a real surprise,” the young “chai wala”, or tea seller, told a foreign media agency.

“I was aware that I am handsome but you can’t do anything when you are poor,” he said, adding that the image has “changed the way I think.”

In the candid photograph, snapped by a passing photographer and posted on Instagram, Khan prepared milk tea, his blue-green eyes looking frankly into the camera. It set social media users swooning, with the 18-year-old’s image shared tens of thousands of times.